He’s My Brother She’s My Sister to rock at Blue Canoe

TUPELO – He’s My Brother She’s My Sister is from Los Angeles – if you need confirmation, listen to vocalist Rob Kolar’s sun-soaked California accent – but the band’s music could be from anywhere, even from the South.
HMBSMS’s sound amalgamation has been described as “glam folk,” “psych-acoustic” and “vaudville-y.”
“We always grew up listening to a lot of old rock ‘n’ roll, like Elvis, and my sister has always been a fan of old country and folk music, so there’s definitely a little bit of that,” Kolar said in a phone interview with the Journal. “The first tour was through Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi. Our first exposure to touring America, it really influenced our sound. It really inspired us to write songs in that vein.”
The band is Kolar and his sister, Rachel, upright bass player Oliver Newell and slide guitarist Aaron Robinson, and tap dancer and drummer Lauren Brown, who tap dances on a drum while playing the drums throughout the band’s live shows.
“She is very expressive tap dancing on the drums while playing the drums with her hands. She’s doing something almost superhuman to an extent, and people get excited. It’s almost like a circus act,” Kolar said.
HMBSMS released an album, “Nobody Dances In This Town,” in October, so the group’s been on the road promoting the record.
“We like to encourage people to come to our shows and bring their own energy,” he said. “Come ready to dance and ready to let loose and sing. We like for this show to be as much about our audience as it is about us.”
Singer-songwriter Shakey Graves and folk band Paper Bird, who recently toured with The Lumineers, will open the show.
“It’s an all-around good show,” Kolar said. “We like that the bands are from different parts of the country. Paper Bird is from Colorado; they’re more of a mountain band, and Shakey Graves is from Austin, Texas, representing the South. We’re all friends.”
HMBSMS has been gaining notoriety with its joyful music and energetic live shows, but Kolar said there’s more work ahead.
“We’re still hungry and striving for bigger things,” he said, “but we’re happy to be on this tour and happy to be playing Tupelo for the first time.”
sheena.barnett@journalinc.com